Airbnb magazine ad implies that 5 star only applies to luxury

[Kayla4]

The latest issue of Airbnb Magazine has an ad for Luxe on the first page that says, "Extraordinary Homes with five-star everything."  The ad features a fancy Italian Villa with a pool.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't let me upload a picture.  We've all be concerned with the Airbnb feedback system being compared to the hotel system.  This confirms that Airbnb thinks its review system compares with the hotel industry.  Airbnb penalizes Superhosts for 4 star ratings while putting out an ad like this. I won't be putting this issue in my properties!

[Sammy35]

money
margin
investors
capital venture-ism
greed
fee gouging
lawsuits
lobbying

[Thomas1033]

I haven’t cracked open a single magazine and now I have 5 I think.  No time for it.  I’ll take all your words for it and to the trash they go...well recycling anyhow!

[Jennifer1993]

Agreed, I've looked though a couple of these magazines and found nothing of interest or of help.  For me they are a waste of resources.  Does anyone know if you can decline receiving them?

[Jody79]

So, just out of curiosity, I clicked on a couple of these Luxe homes to read some reviews.  I was unable to find any.  Are these homes not reviewed by guests?

[Susan1028]

I think I began recycling the mag rags  at the first issue being that I know how expensive they are to produce and that I’d much rather see the money go to preserving the deforestation this narcissistic publication contributes to.  Never made it into my Airbnb and never will when there's still Life, National Geographic and Lonely Planet Travel to offer.

Airbnb wants to be Conde Nast, but we already have one of those, so who needs another?

I think Luxe is the new level of one-up-man-ship from the now obsolete higher rent “plus” moniker that cost those hosts (who believed they were the newest and best) hundreds extra in photography fees and weeks of listing delays pending ivory tower  approval on top of the cost of the prerequisite designer everything, sans metal hangers.

This phenomenon reminds me of the Dr Seuss’s children’s book “The Sneetches” as an inherently childish elitism that ends up nowhere because it all becomes obsolete as we end up with empty wallets while the trend monger walks away with all the cash.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VohyMXB4FLo

There are so many more valuable places to focus our efforts...like on great hospitality  which shines regardless of the setting, offering an uplifting experience in addition to a comfy nights sleep.

Shine on great hosts.  Before you know it they’ll change the standards to 10 stars and even the “Luxe” hosts will be screwed.

[Cormac0]

@Kayla4 

It obvious to me there moving the goal posts because they realise that STR market has change due to government regulations.

the whole rating system is crock of tihS, and not fit for purpose in my opinion.

[Susan17]

If you want to cheer yourselves up, go and have a look at the website of Luxury Retreats (the company that was acquired by Airbnb in February 2017 for a rumoured $300 million, and whose 2000-strong property portfolio comprises Airbnb Luxe) Lots of 4.5 and 4 star ratings for those breathtaking mansions and stunning villas.

Interestingly, those very same properties have no reviews showing on Airbnb at all, even those that have been given long after they've gone live on Airbnb Luxe.. 

Smoke and mirrors and PR stunts, as always. 

[Sammy35]

yup 100%

[Heather133]

Perhaps this helps explain some odd reviews I've received very recently? I've had several reviews where guests gave five stars in every category but a four overall. It's a bit soul-crushing sometimes!

[Natasha-and-Ken0]

Same... I don’t understand. Do you ever ask the guest why they did that? 
when air bnb asks the guest to give the star rating does it explain the impact on the host of a four? 
Also when did four in a five star rating system become so bad? It’s a super bummer. I mostly get fives but I do occasionally have guests who rate categories all five and then overall four? That shouldn’t even be allowed.

[Sarah977]

@Natasha-and-Ken0  No, Airbnb guests have zero idea of how harshly hosts are rated by Airbnb. There is no explanation anywhere for guests about this. Most guests think they are giving a good rating by giving a 4*, because that's exactly what Airbnb tells them. It's crazy.

So it falls on hosts to educate guests about the dichotomy between what Airbnb leads guests to believe and how those ratings affect hosts. Various hosts have different methods of doing this, and there are also hosts who don't feel comfortable about doing so. There are quite a few threads on this forum where hosts have shared their approach to educating guests. Most good guests have no intention to harm their hosts with the star ratings, they just are not aware of how it works.I had 2 guests who did- one because she was a host herself, and one because his sister hosts. All the rest were shocked when I explained it to them.

[Lilly28]

@Natasha-and-Ken0 

I get used to this situation - well, this sometimes is the weather, or they expected to see more for just a day or... as one of the guests said - this was my subjective opinion-all 5, overall 4.

I propose the following as to reduce the effect of these kind of reviews:

For every 3 NEW to airbnb guests the host who has agreed to host them - to win at least 0.01 - as this to be added to his overall rating so far. i.e. if your overall is 4.75, after taking 3 first time users automatically to become 4.76. First time users are always a problem - that is why many hosts refuse  to host them. But for the risk taking first time users - hosts MUST be rewarded  in some way as this is a new costromer added to the platform!